Donation of groundwater will support FutureGen's operations

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 2007--NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) is increasing its contributions to the Heart of Brazos FutureGen project site with a donation of access to 4,800 acre-feet per year of groundwater for its operations. The Company will also offer numerous services to support FutureGen operations in addition to its previously announced donation of 400 acres of land, adjacent to NRG's Limestone Generating Station near Jewett, Texas.

The contribution of water is made in collaboration with TXU and the Brazos River Authority, following an agreement regarding additional surface water resources from Lake Limestone. Water for FutureGen will come from acreage NRG owns in Limestone, Leon, and Freestone counties above the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer.

"We are very proud to be part of the Heart of Brazos FutureGen team and to be able to contribute substantially to its success," said Thad Hill, President of NRG's Texas Region. "A secure, plentiful water source is critical for the FutureGen plant to operate. Additionally, the donated land adjacent to our Limestone plant will allow NRG to support FutureGen further by sharing services."

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael L. Williams, who chairs the FutureGen Texas Advisory Board, praised NRG for its donation of land and water to the Jewett FutureGen proposal.

"Today's announcement by NRG Energy moves Texas another step closer to having the winning FutureGen proposal," Williams said. "We are extremely grateful to NRG for donating the 400-acre site for this clean energy project and working in collaboration with TXU to make water available to the facility.

"This strong private support and collaboration between different companies is forming a rock solid foundation for the Texas bids," Williams said.

NRG is working closely with state and local teams to make the Heart of Brazos site the optimal choice for the $1.5 billion FutureGen demonstration plant.

"NRG has been a key component of the Heart of the Brazos FutureGen proposal, not just through their significant land donation, but also through the tremendous resource of their staff and management," said Tom Wilkinson, Jr., Executive Director, Brazos Valley Council of Governments.

The 400-acre site is twice the amount of land required for construction and operation of the facility.

NRG has also offered numerous additional services to FutureGen to support the plant operations including:

Fuel Management. Procuring, transporting and storing different types of coal and petroleum coke, including lignite obtained from Westmoreland Texas Mining Company and Powder River Basin coals delivered on the existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway.

Dispatch & electric off-take management. Subject to Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Texas Public Utilities Commission approval, NRG could manage the FutureGen's output into the grid.

Support facilities & services. Operating and maintenance services, outage management, purchasing, warehousing, laboratory and testing support, human resources and training support, environmental health and safety, and water treatment services, and a variety of other services, are all currently conducted at the Limestone plant and could easily be extended to the neighboring FutureGen site.

"Coal is America's most abundant energy source, has minimal price volatility, and will be our country's primary domestic fuel source for the foreseeable future," said Hill. "Through the technological advances we make with FutureGen and through initiatives like our gasified coal project in western New York, we will be able to reduce the emissions associated with coal-fueled power generation and continue to use coal to power our homes and businesses while reducing greenhouse gases and other emissions."

The tentative Best and Final Offers from FutureGen bidders are due August 1, 2007. Jewett and Odessa are the finalist sites in Texas along with two sites in Illinois. The FutureGen Alliance, which will own and operate the facility, has said it will announce a single, final site for the project before the end of the year.

About NRG

A Fortune 500 company, NRG Energy, Inc. owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power-generating facilities, primarily in Texas and the Northeast, South Central and West regions of the United States. Its operations include baseload, intermediate, peaking, and cogeneration and thermal energy production facilities. NRG also has ownership interests in generating facilities in Australia, Germany and Brazil.

NRG is a member of USCAP, a diverse group of business and environmental organizations standing together in calling for the federal government to take immediate action to enact mandatory legislation to achieve significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. NRG is also a founding member of "3C--Combating Climate Change," a global initiative with 42 business leaders calling on the global business community to take a leadership role in designing the road map to a low carbon society. More information on NRG is available at www.nrgenergy.com.

About FutureGen

FutureGen is an initiative to build the world's first integrated sequestration and hydrogen production research power plant. The project is intended to create the world's first zero-emissions fossil fuel plant. When operational, the prototype will be the cleanest fossil fuel fired power plant in the world. More information on FutureGen is available at http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/futuregen.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include NRG's expectations regarding the Heart of Brazos site and the FutureGen demonstration plant and NRG's support to FutureGen and typically can be identified by the use of words such as "will," "expect," "believe," and similar terms. Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, permitting and regulatory obstacles, and construction delays.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG's actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG's future results included in NRG's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

    CONTACT: NRG Energy, Inc.
             Meredith Moore, 609-524-4522
             or
             David Knox (Texas), 713-795-6106

    SOURCE: NRG Energy, Inc.